It is known that each time a transaction takes place between a seller and a purchaser the reliability of the people/entities involved is very important and can determine the success of the transaction. In this respect, in countries like Italy, insurance companies provide their clients with a “risk certificate” which indicates the reliability of a driver, i.e. his tendency to make accidents. This risk certificate determines (among other parameters) the cost of the insurance policy.
Reliability certificates are also used in electronic markets, like Amazon® and eBay®, which provide ratings for sellers and purchasers' reliability. In such a system, once a transaction has succeeded, the purchaser receives an e-mail comprising a link to a webpage; by clicking on the link, the user is prompted to the webpage where he can leave feedback on the product and on the seller. On the other side, the seller is given the possibility of leaving feedback about the purchaser's conduct.
Ratings generated within a given electronic market (like eBay®) are not recognised as valid “reliability certificates” by other web sites or markets since they are generated by people not known (not registered users) in these other web sites or markets. Each electronic market, therefore acts as a “closed system” which generates its own reliability certificates (ratings) and recognises as valid certificates only its own certificates.
It is therefore to be noted that in both cases, in order to provide reliable certificates on people's reliability (in driving or in commercial transactions), these certificates are generated by a party involved in the transaction (the insurance company in one case, a web site manager managing the electronic transaction in the other case) and are released only to registered users (the clients in the case of insurance companies).
On the other hand, it is known to have rating services that are independent form the entities involved in the transaction (seller, purchaser and web site manager).
According to its Abstract, US patent application number US2009/0210444 discloses a rating system of this type, which automatically evaluates and determines authenticity of a rating. The computer system disclosed by US2009/0210444 receives rating information, that includes a rating of a company that (according to a declaration of the rater) is involved in a transaction with the rater, and rater profile information, which includes identification information and usage information associated with a user of the computer based service. Based on this information, the computer system determines a risk level and generates an evaluation outcome message that is communicated to the rater. The evaluation outcome message may include an acceptance message, an information request message, and a rejection message. With the acceptance message, the service accepts the rating for storage in a rating information database. With the information request message, the service implements a verification process. With the rejection message, the service rejects the rating.
Notwithstanding all the control measure and the evaluation steps taken by the computer system, the method for collecting feedback information on ratable object disclosed by US2009/0210444 cannot certificate that the feedback has been given by somebody that was really involved in a transaction with the rater.
It is therefore felt the need for a service that is independent from a party involved in the transaction (e.g. the seller or a web site like eBay®) and that allow to certify reliability of entities (people or objects) involved in transactions. In particular, it is felt the need for a system for distributing feedback (in particular relating to companies and people like sellers and purchasers) on several websites different from those collecting the feedback.